The pathway will provide a connection between the Waitematā and Manukau Harbours using concrete paths through reserve land and a boardwalk through the coastal area. The route will connect 33 reserves, esplanade strips, sports parks, and roads.

All scheme plans from G301 to G336

Design details and impacts

Boardwalk height

The pathway has been designed to last for 50 years. Because of predicted sea-level rise, the boardwalk has to be built for the predicted sea level in 50 years, in a major storm event. A coastal processes assessment has estimated the sea level in year 2070 during a severe storm to be 3.46m (AVD-46 Datum) or 5.20m (Chart Datum). As a comparison, the current high tide generally spans between 1.2m to 1.8m (AVD-46 Datum).

The bottom of the boardwalk will be built at 3.5m. Any level lower than this will be a case-by-case scenario to be confirmed in detailed design. The height of boardwalk is yet to be confirmed and options to minimise the structure’s thickness are being explored.

Safety measures

The pathway has been designed to allow for maximum passive surveillance and sight lines along the route. As many access and exit points to the boardwalk sections as practical have been made. The pathway will be lit so it is useable throughout the day and night and for all seasons. In a couple of areas with low passive surveillance, an alternative route has been provided.

Visual impacts

The visual assessment showed that the majority of the pathway will have low to very low visual impact because of the path’s proposed alignment. Some areas of boardwalk have been identified as having more than moderate visual impacts, these are:

Between Queen Mary Reserve and Lynwood Road.

At the end of Roberts Road, near Tiroroa Esplanade.

Near Cobham Reserve.

Consultation with affected residents will be undertaken to understand any impacts and work out ways to address individual needs and concerns.

Impact on trees

The alignment of the pathway has been designed, wherever possible, to minimise the loss of vegetation. Where removals are anticipated, these are mainly trees that are in decline, have poor form, low amenity value, or are classified as a pest species.

Areas of native vegetation that have been identified for removal are young plants and can be replaced by new planting. The pathway project includes significant areas of native re-vegetation following construction of the path and will improve the diversity and the quality of the vegetation along the route. For example, 7,000 plants were planted in Archibald Park last year and 8,000 will be planted this year in Ken Maunder, McLeod, and Archibald Parks.

Impact on birds

An assessment of the habitat along the route found 6 areas of potential high quality banded rail nesting sites. These areas have been surveyed and banded rail footprints were seen, so the pathway alignment was moved 20 metres to avoid potential nesting sites.

Impact on marine life

Marine fish diversity at the entrance to the Whau estuary is relatively high compared to other Waitematā sites, but given that fish are mobile and the route is inter-tidal, it is expected any effects on fish to be minor.

The assessment on marine life found that any impacts on marine ecology will be mostly due to construction activities. Details of how the boardwalks will be constructed is still being refined and recommendations provided from the marine ecology assessment will be used to decide the most appropriate construction method with the least impact. Improving the stream’s potential as an inanga spawning habitat will be undertaken as part of the restoration work.

Impact on archaeological sites

Māori lived along the river for many years and there are lots of midden sites as well as the remains of brick works from early European industry. 40 archaeological sites in the vicinity of the pathway have been identified. In most cases, the pathway route will go around these archaeological sites. Further work is required in 9 cases to accurately pinpoint archaeological remains and work out what actual impact the pathway would have on these sites. Once this is done, the final positioning of the pathway will be confirmed during the consenting stage.

Landscape and urban design framework

The urban and landscape design framework defines the design principles and concepts of Te Whau Pathway to support the consent process and to guide subsequent design development.

The framework includes the design objectives and concepts for paths, bridges and boardwalks, landscape design, accessibility, wayfinding, and legibility of the whole route.

Construction stages

Stage 1 - completed September 2015

The first stage involved constructing 3 concrete sections of the walkway (total 1.6km) on reserve land at Olympic Park, Ken Maunder Park and Archibald Park.

Stage 1A - completed November 2016

This stage involved constructing the main pathway at McLeod Park and new path linkages creating connections to the main pathway at Archibald Park, Ken Maunder and Olympic Park.

Ecological restoration has begun at Archibald Park, and will continue in winter 2017, along with restoration at Ken Maunder Park and McLeod Park.

Stage 1B

One of the aims of Te Whau Pathway is to improve access to and appreciation of the Whau River.

We’ve secured funding from The Trusts Community Foundation and have consent to build a pontoon at Archibald Park in Kelston. The new pontoon will be connected to the existing boat ramp, and will provide better access to the Whau River for kayakers and waka ama groups.

Construction of the pontoon is planned to begin in Autumn 2018, and will include improvements to the boat ramp.

More on-land sections of Te Whau Pathway will get underway in 2018. Resource consents have been granted for paths in Rizal Reserve, Queen Mary Reserve, Roberts Field, and Tiroroa Esplanade.

Consent for the pathway route

In addition to Stage 1B works, we are planning for a resource consent to cover the entire Te Whau Pathway route. The consent will be publicly notified and we welcome your submissions.

We’ll share further updates once a timeline is available.

Public engagement

Feedback on Te Whau Pathway was open from 13 March to 16 April 2017. We asked for feedback on the pathway's route and design, local knowledge about how people will use it, and any potential issues.

In total, AT received 383 submissions. From these:

317 people indicated they like an aspect of the pathway route.

248 people indicated the like an aspect of the pathway design.

25 people indicated they don’t like the proposed pathway.

86% of submitters indicated they would use the pathway.

Feedback report

We have arranged comments and suggestions into themes and responded in the consultation report.